Train-control system



May 27, 1924. 1,495,562

W. B. MURRAY TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEM Filed April 21, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet ly Gum way,

May 27 1924.

W. B. MURRAY TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEM 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 21. 1922m, y 52? /4 4 m 1 mw .7, A Ml H. 6o MW {on 5 m W l. H & u n u m WM 4 ill Z X May r W. B. MURRAY TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEM Filed April 21, 1922 4Sheets-Sheet 5 Gumm May 27 192.

W. B. MURRAY TRA IN CONTROL SYSTEM Filed April 21, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 4Patented May 27, 1924 so sir eras PATENT ounce,

' WILLiAM Baooxs MURRAY,, on D-ANVILLE; ILLINOIS, AssIGnoR To MILLERTRAIN coma-e1, oonroanrron, or STAUNTON, vrnemm, A ooaroanrxon or-VIRGINIA.

ream-comma SYSTEM.

RppI'icHtihII' filed Hpril 2B, 1922; Serial No. 555,854.

Tani/Z whomin may: @onee'vm 'Danvill'e, in: the county or Vermilion andState o fi' l llinois lraaze invented certain newand: usefulImprovements in: Train Gontrol.

Systems, of: which the toilowing is a specification;

Ehlis invention relates to train" control systems; Wherein mechanicallyactuated and eleetni'ealty e'o ntroliled vehiclesteipping ape p'aratusis carried b a veliicle adapted. to ti' aveil upon a track is operatedby ramps' adjacent the tr 1: and having electrio. circuitsiassociatedtherewithe The. in-

vention disclosed and: claimed. in. the: present application is an:improvement over" the systems showm my prior Patents N osa 1,331,? -5,granted A, n1 4:,\ raao; and! Leas-game,v granted November" 115 11921,wherein the ap paratus'eontrolrlin'gthe vehicle contacts With rampsarranged at sditable locations along. the! track way, and the vehicleis?stopped it theralnp is deenergized: and: allowed; 110* pro 25 ceed'when-i it passes; am energized ramp.-

An. object of the present: invention is the provision oi? anelectrically controlled: main valve whichv sea-ts upwardly against acurrent of; ain flowing downwardly, whereby the. valve: is" positively;removed trorn-x its seat when its control; magnet is deenergi zedr A:further object is; the provision of an auxiliary valve opened-by the;closure on the main: valve to refill! the pipes forming apart'of thesystem toi prev'ent a reduction of p essure in: the control apparatuswhen themainl vwl-veopensw p In the accompanying drawings; 1 have shownone embodiment on the invention. Inithisshowing':

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic sideelevation showing the invention appliedto: a vehicle;

I Figure 2 i a). frontelevation of; anengi neens air. brake levershowing the in-v em- Figure 6 is a s1 Figure 3-,; and,

tion. applied parts being; shown in section,

Figure '3 portion or a track Way showing the electric circuits;

Referring to the drawings, the referencenumeral 1 designates the casingof an engineers brake valve of usual constructionwhich: 1s mounted onthe vehicle at any suitable point,- pr'e'iiera'bly in the engineers cabishaft (not shown) extends through this casing and is provided with alever" 2 to permit revolution of the shaft toopen or close the valve andapply the brakes.-

- Th isdeyeris providedwith a handle portion The controlapparatusforining the subect matter oi the present invention con sistsoi a cylinder 4 which is closed at its lowerendla-nd isp-rovided with aport 5 for the introduction of air or other fluid under pressure. Asshown, this port communicates with the top of the cylinder through atransverse port 6.. These ports are adapted tdbe connected to a sourceof fluid under pressure; such as the air reservoir 01% the veliicle;. bymeans of. a pipe. 7 Theupper end ot the cylinder is closed by a head 8,v

which is? provided with a central boss 9;

piston 10 is arranged within the cylinder and this: piston is providedwith a piston rod- 1-1 extending through the boss 9.v The piston rod isadapted to he surrounded by suitable packing 1-2, held in position by" apacking gland 13- and a packing. nut 14', which engages threads formedon the exteriorof the boss 9-. The inner end of the boss is surroundedby a suitable strip of packing: 15; A bracket 16' is supported on is adiagrammatic View of a theftop of the cylinder and this bracket isadapted to support a steel roller 17, mounted on a; pin 1 8; A chain 19preferably formed 01E st'eelaiscennected tothe piston rod. The

chain may be connected to the piston rod in: any suitable manner but, asshown, the

piston rod is provided with a longitudinal slot 20 at its upper end andone end of theohain is arranged therein and adapted to be- '23, adaptedto engage one side of the air brake lever. A bracket 24 is secured tothe casing of the air brake valve and extends upwardly. This bracket andthe bracket 16 are adapted to receive and support a cover plate 25arranged over the chain.

A valve casing 26 is arranged adjacent the cylinder 4. This valve casingis provided with a main inlet passage 27 communicating with a port 28extending through the cylinder wall to the bottom and this portvcommunicates with the interior of the cylinder by apassage 29. Thepiston is provided with a restricted port 30, whereby the lower portionof the cylinder communicates with the upper portion to establish abalanced pressure therein. The valve casing is provided with a mainvalve seat 31, arranged in a port 32, connecting themain inlet passageto a chamber 33. This chamber is provided with an outlet 34communicating with a pipe or conduit 35. The bottom of the chamber isclosed by a plate 36, having an opening 37 arranged therein. The upperend of this opening is provided with a valve seat 38 and a port 39extends from the valve seat to a secondary chamber 40. A whistle-41 isarranged on the valve casing, communicating with a secondary chamber 40.A valve member 42 is arranged in the chamber 33 and is provided with avalve 43, adapted to engage the valve seat 31. The lower end of thismember is provided with a valve 44, adapted to engage the valve seat 38and a valve stem 45 extends from the valve 44 through the opening 36.The main valve 43 is normally in the open position, shown in Figure 2 ofthe drawings, and is adapted to be controlled by a magnet 46. As shown,this magnet is provided with a core 47, which is raised when the magnetis energized. A guide 48 is supported in the upper portion of the magnetand a pin 49 extends through this guide. VVhe'n the core of the magnetis raised, this pin is lifted to engage the valve stem 45 and close thevalve 43. The core of the magnet is provided with an extension 50,projecting from the bottom of the magnet casing to permit manualoperation of the valves.

The upper end of the valve casing 26 is provided with a port 51,communicating with a transverse port 52 in the top of the cylinder. Thevalve casing is closed by a cap 53, the interior of which is hollow,forming an auxiliary chamber 54. This chamber is provided with asmallbleed opening 55, communicating with a port 56 that extends intothe main outlet port 34 and thus communicates with the conduit or pipe35. The port 56 extends inwardly beyond the bleed opening andcommunicates with a passage 57 extending into the cham ber 54. The upperend of this passage is provided with a valve seat 58. A valve 59 isnormally in engagement with this relatively close to the ground.

valve seat. The valve is provided with a depending. stem 60 whichprojects into the inlet passage 21 and is adapted to be engaged by anextension 61 ot the, main valve when the main valve is raised. The upperend of the valve 59 is provided with an extension 62 which is receivedin a recess 63 of the cap. The conduit 35 communicates with a shoearranged on the locomotive at any convenient point and adapted to engageinclined ramps arranged at spaced intervals along the track and adaptedto open the lower-end of the pipe to the atmosphere. As shown, theconduit may be provided with sections of hose 64 or other flexiblematerial to permit ease of assembly, these sections being connected toeach other by. couplings 65 of any desired type. The shoe is mounted ona bracket 66, secured to a part of the vehicle and arranged As shown,the shoe comprises a substantially cylindrical member67 having flanges68 formed on opposite sides. These flanges are provided with slots 69 topermit vertical ad ustment of the shoe in assembling. Bolts 70 passthrough these slots a'ndare received in openings in the bracket 66.-These bolts are retained in position by means of nuts 71. As shown,suitable insulation=72 is arranged between the fshoe and the "bracket toinsulate it from the vehicle. Theshoe is provided with a removable cap 73 which'is retained in position by bolts 74, passing through a flange 75formed on'the bottom of the cap and adapted to be received in openingsin the body portion of the shoe. Apiston 76 is arrangedivithin the shoe,the piston being provided with suitable packing 77 to prevent leakage ofair. A spring 78 is arranged between the top of the'pjistonfand the cap.The conduit 35Ycommunicates with a port 79, arranged in an enlargement80 on the front of the shoe. This port communicates with the interior ofthe shoe by means of a transverse chamber 81. As shown, the end of thischamber is closed by a threaded plug 82. The shoe is further providedwith an outlet opening 83 The piston is provided with a piston rod, theupper portion 84 of which is of less diameter than the diameter of thecylinder 67, and the lower portion 85 of which is of a diametersubstantially equal to the diameter of the cylinder. As shown, thisenlarged portion of the piston extends above the bottom of the cylinderat all times when the shoe is in its lowest position, as shown in Figure4 of the drawings. The section 85 extends downwardly and is adapted toreceive a substantially L-shaped plate 86. As shown, this plate issecured thereto by means of bolts 87 and nuts 88. The lower portion 89of the plate is arranged horizontally. This plate is provided with aflange 90, at

sesame:

one end,. and with; flanges 91 on opposite sides- A shoe: 92: tor-med ofsuitable hard metal is arranged; beneath the plate. 89; and betweentheflanges; and 91. A removable plate 93' is. arranged opposite". the.flange.

90 and bolts 94; are passed. through the shoe to retain. the insertplate 92 in position. These bolts. are provided with nuts 95; The pistonis; provided with. a. lbngitndinal' port. 96', extending? downwardlyiirom the top and a. ball valve- 97 is arranged adj acent the-bot;- tomof this: port. The ball valve is; normally retained. in position by aspring 98%.

Referring to Figure l of the drawings. a ramp: is adapted: to= be"arranged. opposite: the: rail 99. a1t the. point where the: trainstopping apparatus; is. adapted. to function; As: shown, the rampcomprises; an Lbeamx 1.00,. the verticalportion of which. is providedwith. serrated edges 101.. A pair of clamping plates. 192' are securedto: thisbeannthese plates; being provided with serrated. edges 108.Thefupper' edges: oi. these; plates are provided with. clampingelenients. 10%,. adapted to receive the bottom 015 an. Lbeam; which.forms the contact member oi? the: ramp. The ramp maybe verticallyadjusted to any desired height and issinclined. from.

each end: to. the middle in the usual manner.

In Figure 7 of. th -drawings, the arrangement of the ramps and theconnections to form the necessary circuits is: diagrammaticallyillustrated. As: shown, the trackway" is formed: of: plurality of railsin the usual manner and the rail sections separated. by insulated joints106: to form blocks A, B, and The signal is arranged at the: entrance toeach bloclc. in. the. usual manner, adapted. to be: controlled the trackcircuit: and this: signal is connected to a. ramp arranged at brakingdistance in front: of: the entrance tothe block: to. control. the train.As shown, a track circuit. is formed: means; of lea-d wires 19.? 108',which; are com nected to. the two rails; or the track and to: a. sourceof current 109. Atrack. relay 110 is' also connected tcr the rails bylead wires=111 and 1121. It will be: apparent that a circuit normallyexists in; the block C. When there: is:-

- no train. in the block or no: disconnected.

oi: current 113.. As shown, signal wires; 11%

and 11.51" extend. alongthe track and. the source? of'curreznt 1L3 is'eonnecteditovthez wire: lllbyr a leadwi're, 115. The; wire 11A. serves:as; a. rampcontrol. wire and: is connected. to? ramp. relay: 116. by a.branch wire 11 7 The: relay is provided with a lead. wire 118 which. isconnected. to a: movahle contact 1119. ar. ranged adjacent the trackrelay and. adapiltid.

* 6 contact. 1129* is adapted: to engage: a. lead. wire 120: which isconnected to at signal relay 121.

. A. movable: armv lQQZlSi arranged adjacent this the relay isdeenergiaed, a. spring .125 is;

adapted: to swing: the lever on its. pivot. and lower the signal to adanger or stopping position, shown in dotted lines; is. connected totoil- 115. by a wire 126. and the wire is; connected to the; source of.current by a wire 127. i

The ramp 105'; is; arranged: in advance oi. theerrtrance to block. 6-,and:v this. ramp" is connected. to: a: source! of current 1 28 by 1131631113! of. a. wire 1'29... A movable contact. 130 is arranged; in. this;connection. and. is: adapted to: betcontrol lle'di by ramp relay 116;.The? opposite sideof the source of. current is connecteds to oneot therailshy a wire-1331'- Referring to: Figures 1 2 oi the drawings, the.shoe is; provided with. a connection, 132;. which. may extend.v upwardlyalong; the conduit, 35: and is connected tothe electrolnagnet, as at.133,. the: opposite: pole of. the magnet. being grounded on thevehicle-..

Inoperation, air flows; through the pipes '7" and: ports; 5 and 6' tothe: cylinder 4.. Sui.- fici'ent, air passes through the: restricted:port 80 the cylinder 10.- toi eqtlmlize the. pressure: on: the top andbottom ot the; cylinder and the conduit 35 is' filled with air passingthrough: the: ports 28 and 29 5:1' and. 52'. The

apparatus is. then: condition tori operation, the valve 13.beingnormally inthe openzp'osis.

tion shown in FigureQoi the drawings. As; the vehicle approaches ablock}. the movable. portion off the shoe engages a ramp and. is

raised, lifting the piston; above: the chamber 81: and permitting air toflow fromathecham' ber 83]} to; the: atmosphere, through opening 83;. Itthe: ramp is deenergized, indicating a danger.- condition, the; magnete6; remains-1 denenergized. and: the valve 4:3: remains. open,permitting air to; flow from. the. bottom of the cylinder 11:0- totheconduit 35,. thus reduczing: the pressure. in. the lower portion out thecylinder. 4 The piston 10 is then. forced:

downwardly, by the pressure:v on its; upper-- surface, pulling; thechain 19 downwardly: and-.revolvingjthe chain drum 21).. Theffih-ger 23$engages the: air brake lever- 2 and. moves it'. around. to apply the bl'ake s. As soon: as. the shoe: passes; oli'zoftlie ramp, the pressure:in. the cylinderis equalized. and the? piston.- again. raises,peim-itting the chain and? chain drum. 21 to. assume their norn'ialpositions;- and thus; permitting. manual operation: of the control;lever 2,. through: the: handle. 3;-

permits the: engineer to. release: the

brakes before the train comes to: a dead stop. or it: the; tracks areslippery and. the brakes The relay have been applied suddenly, lockingthe wheels and causing skidding, it permits the engineer to release thebrakes and again apply them.

When the train approaches a clear signal,

This cuts ofl' communication between the lower end of the cylinder andthe conduit 35 and the raising of the movable portion of the shoe merelyexhausts the air in the conduit 35 without applying the brakes. When thevalve 43 is closed, the valve 44 is opened, permitting air to passthrough the chamber 40 to the whistle 41, thus giv ing the engineer anaudible signal that the block is clear, in addition to the usual visiblesignal. The conduit 35 is at all times in communication with the sourceof pressure through bleed opening 55 and passage 56 to maintain aconstant pressure throughout the system and replenish any air lost byslight leaks at couplings-or joints. However, an actual break in thehose will quick ly exhaust the air at a greater speed than it can bereplenished through the restricted bleed opening and will withdraw "airfrom the bottom of the cylinder. It will thus be seen that the valve 43is normally in" danger position and that a positi ve. action, theenergization of the magnet 46,'is necessary to permit the vehicle topass a ramp, and further, that any break in the apparatus will alsocause an application of the brakes. \Vhen the valve 43 is closed, theprojection 61 engages the stem 60 of valve 59 to lift it from its seat.This permits a larger amount of air to flow to the conduit 35 thannormally flows through the bleed opening 55. It will be apparent that aportion of the air in the conduit and shoe is exhausted each time thevehicle passesa' ramp and in order to quickly replenish the supply andbuild up an equal pressure in theconduit, the auxiliary valve 59 isopened each time the vehicle passes an energized ramp by the closing ofthe'main valve 43. Th1s prevents alr from being withdrawn from the lowerportion of the cylinder when the valve 43 is again opened and thusremoves the possibility of an ordinary application of the brakes due toa low pressure in the conduit 35 and a consequent decrease in pressurein the bottom of the cylinder.

The signalling mechanism disclosed is of cation with the conduit 35 atall times.

the usual type. The entrance to eachv block is provided with signallingmechanism, as shown, and each block or track cut is provided with atrack circuit. For simplicity, the track circuit of block C alone isshown in the drawings. With a clear block and no open switches, brokenrails or other disconnections, current normally flows from sourceofcurrent 109, through wire 107, one rail 99, Wire 112, relay 110, wire111, the other rail, and wire 108 to the source of current. Thus thetrack relay 110 is normally energized when a clear block exists. It atrain enters the block, the current is short circuited through thewheels, and axle of the train, deenergizing the magnet. The contact 119of the signalcircuit then moves out of engagement with the lead wire 120and the signal drops to the danger or stop position, shown in dottedline in Figure 7 of the drawings. lVhen the relay 110 is energized,current flows from the source of current 113, through wires 115, 114,and 117, ramp relay 116, wire 118, movable contact 119, wire 120, relay121, wire 126, wire'115 and wire 127 to source of current 113. Thesignal relay 121 being energized, attracts the lever 122 against thetension of spring 125 and retains the signal 123 in clear position.

When the signal is in clear position, the ramp relay 116 is energized,attracting the contact 130 and connecting the ramp 105 to source ofcurrent 128 by means of wire 129. The opposite end of the source ofcurrent is connected to one of the rails by wire 131 and when a vehiclepasses over the ramp, the contact between the plate 92 and the rampcauses the current to pass through the shoe to wire 132, magnet 46, theframe of the vehicle,'rail 99, and wire 131 to the source of current.When the signal circuit is deenergized and the signal 123 is arranged ata danger position,'the ramp relay 116 is d-eenergized and the contact130-moves to open position disengaging the ramp from the source ofcurrent.

The shoe is forced downwardly by the pressure existing in the upperportion of cylinder 67, insuring proper contact between the shoe and'theramp to permit the shoe to pick up current from an energized ramp. Thepassage 96 extendsthrough the top of the piston and is thus in communi-The lower end of this passage is closed by ball valve 97 which. isretained in position by spring 98,"the opposite end of the springbearing against plate 89 of the shoe. It the shoe proper should becomeloosened or broken ofi', it will be apparent that the ball valve 97 willbe unseated and will thus permit the air to exhaust from the apparatusand apply thebrakes.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown anddescribed is to be taken as a preferredexample of the same, and thatvarious changes in the shape, size, and arrangement of parts may beresorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or thescope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my claim:

1. In a train control apparatus, a cylinder, a piston mounted therein,means for supplying fluid to one end of said cylinder, means to permitfluid to pass into the opposite end of the cylinder to establish abalanced pres sure therein, the second end of said cylinder beingprovided with an outlet, said outlet communicating with the interior ofsaid cylinder, a valve casing communicating with the opposite end of theoutlet, a valve arranged therein, electrically operated means to actuatesaid valve, a conduit connected to the valve casing on the other side ofsaid valve, mechanically actuated means to 'open said conduit to theatmosphere, and means for supplying additional air to said conduit whensaid valve is closed.

2. In a train control apparatus, a cylinder, a piston mounted therein,means for supplying fluid to one end of said cylinder, means to permitfluid to pass into the opposite end of the cylinder to establish abalanced pressure therein, the second end of said cylinder beingprovided with an outlet, said outlet communicating with the interior ofsaid cylinder, a valve casing communicating With the opposite end of theoutlet, a valve ar ranged therein, electrically operated means toactuate said valve, a conduit connected to the valve casing on the otherside of said valve, mechanically actuated means to open said conduit tothe atmosphere, and an auxiliary valve for supplying additional air tosaid conduit when said first valve is closed.

3. In a train control apparatus, a cylinder, a piston mounted therein,means for supplying fluid to one end of said cylinder, said piston beingprovided with a contracted port invention, I

to establish a balanced pressure on both sides of said piston, theopposite end of said cylinder being provided with an outlet, a valvecasing communicating with said outlet, a main valve arranged therein,electrically operated means to actuate said valve, a conduit connectedto said casing, on the other side of said valve, a secondary valvearranged in said conduit, mechanically actu-- ated means to operate saidsecondary valve, and an auxiliary Valve for supplying additional air tosaid conduit when said main valve is closed and said auxiliary valveopened, said auxiliary valve being provided with a valve stem adapted toengage said main valve to open said auxiliary valve.

4. In a train control apparatus, means for applying the engineers airbrake, said means being controlled by fluid pressure, a valve casingarranged adjacent said means and communicating therewith, a main valvearranged in said casing, said casing being provided with an inletopening above said valve and an outlet opening below said valve, aconduit connected to said outlet opening, a secondary valve arranged insaid conduit, electrically operated means to close said main valve, andmechanically operated means to actuate said secondary valve.

5. A. device constructed in accordance with claim 4, wherein said valvecasing is provided with an auxiliary valve adapted to be opened by theclosing of said main valve to supply air to said conduit.

6. A device constructed in accordance with claim 5, wherein saidauxiliary valve is arranged above said main valve and provided with adepending stem adapted to be engaged by a portion of the main valve whenthe main valve is closed.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM BROOKS MURRAY.

Witnesses:

J. A. FOSTER, G. Ross WERTZ.

